The FunStar Games
The FunStar Games is a reality sports competition in which a series of FunStars compete for the title of 'Games Champion'. It is the originator of all FunStar Games shows and usually lasts for between 2-4 months. The show is broadcast on the GKR TV network in the United Kingdom, with spin-off show More FunStar Games. The show was known as The FunStar Summer Games from it's premiere in 2006 until the end of Series 3 in 2009, the show is currently undergoing a complete revamp for Series Four, part of this has included changing the name of the show after the cancellation of sister show The FunStar Winter Games in 2009. A number of hosts have presented the show and usually on the last week of training Guest Presenters host the show as the usual presenters normally take part in the training sessions, the usual presenters return to hosting the show once the 'Finals' of the sports begin. For Series 4 the show was giving a revamp. This included brand new titles, a new theme tune & a new sponsor. The competitor selection process was also changed. Series 5 of the show launched on Wednesday December 22nd 2010 and will end on Saturday February 26th 2011. Series Five and Six have been confirmed since 2009 when show bosses signed a new 3 series contract, which started at the beginning of Series Four. Series Six is expected to air in 2012. Format Coming soon... ''Revamp'' The show was revamped for series 4. The new titles, theme tune and sponsor for Series 4 were revealed in the pre-series show which was aired on Sunday 28th February 2010. From Series 4 onwards the competitor selection process was changed. Before the change competitors had to send in an application form and they would then be interviewed, however bosses decided that they needed to see that the competitors were physically fit for the show. For the new and current process all competitors need to send in an application form, if their application is successful they will then attend a week of tests which they must pass, anyone who fails will not be accepted onto the show. Once the tests are over all applicants then get interviewed and a final selection are chosen. Series One (2006) Main article: Series One (2006) In Late 2005 a brand new reality sports show was announced for broadcast on the newly found TV Channel GKR TV. Davina McCall and FunStar Paul Phillips presented the show. The series consisted of 6 competitors and 3 sports, which were 400m Sprint, Archery & Shotput. The series was aired over 5 consecutive weeks, with week 1 - 4 being training sessions and week 5 consisting of the 3 'Finals', making it the shortest series to date. All training sessions took place in one venue where professional coaches of the 3 sports would train the FunStars, the 'Finals' also took place in the same venue. Following a successful first series the show was commissioned for a second series. Series Two (2008) Main article: Series Two (2008) For series two 8 competitors took part and 5 new sports were introduced, however each FunStar only took part in 4 sports. The sports were Atheltics, Dancing (female only), Football (male only), Karate & Table Tennis. Show bosses decided to use local sports clubs to train each FunStar in every sport. The training sessions started from the day after the series launched and lasted until the end of May, with the 'Finals' beginning in June. The series launched in April and ended in June and has been the second most popular series to date. Davina McCall and Paul Phillips returned as hosts. Series Three (2009) Main article: Series Three (2009) '' Series three saw the introduction of a number of changes to the show and is currently the longest and most popular series to date. For the first time a theme was introduced to attract more viewers and this did just that with an 'Adventure' theme with FunStars 'visiting' different locations around the world. This series also introduced a new spin-off show More FunStar Games, which was aired daily after the main show and as a result two more hosts were added to the cast. A new host had to be found after Paul Phillips announced he would not be hosting the show but taking part. Guest hosts were also introduced as the regular hosts took part in the final week of training sessions. A total of 28 FunStars took part, the largest number of competitors to date and there was a total of 9 sports, some of these returned from series 2 and others were new for series 3. Series 3 attracted some interest from the public before it had even began after one of the competitors who was confirmed to appear on the show was dropped at the last minute and show bosses had to find a replacement fast. There was also an overhaul of the points scoring system for this series. Davina McCall returned to host the main show along with new host Dermot O'Leary. New hosts Kirsty Gallacher & Alan Shearer presented More FunStar Games. Series Four (2010) ''Main article: Series Four (2010) On 25 October 2009, show bosses confirmed that they had signed a new 3-series contract with GKR TV. The contract started at the beginning of series 4. The show was also given a revamp for this series. A new theme tune, new sponsor, new titles and a new competitor selection process was introduced. More FunStar Games returned for a third series and bosses decided to bring back a theme for the show. This years theme was 'Space' and had the tagline 'Lets get spacey with the FunStars'. The series launched on Sunday March 7th 2010 and ended on Saturday 3rd July 2010 making it the longest series to date. Davina, Dermot & Kirsty all returned to host the show, however a new host needed to be found to replace Alan. Patrick Kielty was announced as the new host who would takeover. For this series there was 10 competitors (5 male & 5 female) and 8 sports. Series Five (Late 2010/Early 2011) Main article: Series Five (Late 2010/Early 2011) Series 5 launched on Wednesday December 22nd 2010 with a 90-minute show. There has only been 2 noted changes this series. The first being that there was no theme and the second being that all of this series sports were done indoors. Despite the series launching in December 2010, training didn't actually begin until January 3rd 2011. All of the shows which aired December 22nd - December 31st 2010, revealed 1 competitor & 1 sport per show, except the launch show where 2 competitors & no sport was revealed. The shows aired January 1st & January 2nd 2011 included interviews with all of the coaches from this series to explain what would be included in this years training sessions and also included interviews with the Clubland Workout Team to explain what workouts the competitors would be doing. Training started on January 3rd 2011 and lasted until January 31st 2011. The Finals started on February 1st 2011 and lasted until the series finale on Saturday February 26th 2011. There was no show on Christmas Day. Davina & Dermot returned to present the main show and Kirsty & Patrick returned to host More FunStar Games which launched it's new series on New Years Day (January 1st 2011). Presenters ''Davina McCall (Series 1 - Present) Coming soon... ''Dermot O'Leary (Series 3 - Present) Coming soon... ''Kirsty Gallacher (Series 3 - Present) Coming soon... ''Patrick Kielty (Series 4 - Present) Coming soon... ''Alan Shearer (Series 3) Coming soon... ''Paul Phillips (Series 1 & 2) Coming soon... ''Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly (Series 1 & 2 - FunStar Winter Games) Coming soon... On the final week of training the show is normally hosted by guest presenters as the usual hosts take part in the training sessions. Sponsorships Spin-offs Coming soon... ''The FunStar Winter Games (2007 - 2009) Main article: The FunStar Winter Games Coming soon... ''More FunStar Games (2008 - Present) ''Main article: More FunStar Games Coming soon... ''Future Spin-offs'' Coming soon... Soundtrack Series 1 & 2 featured only the theme tune and no other songs. Series 3 featured a variety of songs by celebrity singers who performed on More FunStar Games, as well as the theme tune to the show, however they were not released on CD. There were rumours that an official soundtrack CD was to be produced for Series 4, however this was later confirmed to be untrue. References External links http://officialfunstargames.moonfruit.com/ - Official FunStar Games 2010 Website http://funstargames.moonfruit.com/ - Official FunStar Summer Games 2009 Website (No longer updated)